Pound Cake and Petit Fours

I’ve been on a pound cake kick lately. Last weekend I made two of them. One plain and another with strawberries. They both turned out really yummy.

Then, this weekend I wanted to try my hand at petit fours. You know … adorable, tiny layered cakes filled with fruit or frosting and covered in poured fondant or icing. They can be made from sponge cakes, genoise cakes, or pound cakes. Ding. Ding. Ding. That means more pound cake for me. I decided to go the whole nine yards. Little layers, syrup, marzipan… Looking back, I think my kitchen wishes I went the easy way. I should have just sliced 1-inch thick pieces from the pound cake loaf and then then cut out tiny cakes with a cutter. But no … that would be too easy.

Okay, before we get to the petit fours, let me tell you about the two pound cake loaves.

First up. Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

I couldn’t wait to slice into it.

Perfect.

Oh my… help me.

And the top… I could tunnel right through this thing.

But first, a little cream cheese icing.

Yes, it was as good as it looks.

The recipe made enough for two loaves, so on the second one I added some strawberries.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside.Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheesea nd sugar for about 6 minutes.Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.Add vanilla and milk until combined.Add flour mixture until completely combined.

Stir in 2-cups hulled and diced strawberries for each loaf if desired.

Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.

Update: Ummm… Forgot to mention… some of my strawberries sank to the bottom, You know I don’t bake with fruit so much, but after reading up on it, I think this will help. Try lightly covering the fruit with flour. Let me know if it works for ya.

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and milk until thoroughly combined.Spread on top of cake.Store in the refrigerator.

Now for the petit fours…

First, let me say… these were a lot of work. I’m glad I tried them, but a lot of work. Thank goodness they tasted great.

If you want to see a fantastic tutorial, check out this one from veganyumyum. Not only is it a really great step-by-step guide, but her photographs are also beautiful.

Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper. You’ll need two sheets to lay sideways so you can lift the cake out when it’s done. Use some butter and coat the paper. Then dust with flour.

I used the pound cake recipe above, minus the milk and strawberries and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. Also, I accidentally omitted the milk. Turns out that was probably a good thing, because the cake baked right up to the edge of the pan. It might have spilled over with the milk.

After the cake is baked and cooled, trim off the outer edges and then cut it into eight equal sections. Next, use a serrated knife and cut the height of each section in half. Turn each layer cut side up and apply a small amount of syrup. I used a spray bottle, but you can also brush it on. Don’t saturate it though. Then spread on a thin layer of warmed raspberry jam so that you can still see the cake through the jam. Stack the sections three layers high. (three layers of cake and two layers of filling.) Four would have made it too tall, based on the pound cake recipe used here.

Now, for marzipan. I finally found a reason to use this stuff. It has an almond flavor and is pretty tasty. Marzipan sometimes goes on the top layer of the petit four and I think really helps when you pour the icing on. Roll out the marzipan in a super thin layer. Then place it on top of each section of layered cake. Add simple syrup first to help the marzipan stick. Trim off any marzipan that overlaps the cake sections. Wrap each section in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, cut the sections in small squares. Each three-layer cake section will give you 12 petit fours. And you can get at least 5 three-layer sections. That’s a lot of little cakes. (After the icing dried, I drizzled on some melted chocolate and added a few fondant flowers for decoration.)

The next day, dip these in poured fondant and place on a wire rack. Set a cookie sheet underneath to catch the drippings.

Pouring didn’t work so much for me. I dipped each of the four sides and then spooned a little over the top. This was by far the trickiest part. Getting the consistency right, covering the cakes smoothly. I made a HUGE gigantic mess.

Here’s a peek…

Again, I suggest visiting veganyumyum for a great how-to as I have no actual photos of the dipping, dripping, pouring or cursing.

I managed to get several out that looked pretty decent, though.

But by the end, I was out of icing, out of my mind and still had a bunch of uncovered little cakes. They stayed that way, too. I’ve convinced myself they taste better uncovered.

they look delicious!! thanks for the recipes! i've made simple syrup to cover my wedding cakes before to lock in moisture but it makes the cake sooooooo sweet. i think i'll try your recipe to see if it helps!

i saw on a site recently that when they made petit fours, instead of dipping them on all sides, the icing was thin enough to pour over the cakes (on a cookie sheet over a baking pan like you had them drip drying). not sure if it was a nontraditional icing and thats why it was pourable or what…if you do ever try them again, that might be an easier way to ice them, because yes, that is a serious pain.

I can't wait to try the pound cake recipe, it looks delicious (I loved both flavors)! As for the petit fours, you cured my desire to try to make them. Thanks for saving me the trouble and the mess! LOL

I know people probably tell you this ALL the time, but you could TOTALLY do a Food Network show with all your creative ideas! I would watch (and DVR of course) EVERY EPISODE!! Love your site. Keeps my weekends busy attempting your crafts for sure! : )

Those are SO CUTE! I can't believe all the effort you put in to these things. I would have been cursing at the 2nd step! I like waiting to see what cute things YOU bake, then getting the how-to from you so I know what will work when I try it myself =)

I've been enjoying your blog for a while now, but I think this is the first I've commented. Anyhow, I adore petit fours, but limit myself to one box per year bought from the Hickory Farms kiosk sometime in December. I then make it last until well until January.

I'm a reasonable cook, but can't bake to save my life. I have to say, I can't imagine trying to make petit fours. You have my everlasting admiration for even trying!

Just discovered your site here in South Africa and I am absolutely hooked!! Made your cake pops at the weekend and just blew everyone away!! Now gonna give that strawberry pound cake a try .. I dont think we call it a pound cake here .. we call it a Madeira cake .. isn't life just so fascinating?! Anyway, thanks for inspiring me down here! Can't wait to see whats next!!

Ooohhh, missed an opportunity to make trifle with the leftover un-iced cakes Bakerella! Arrange in a layer, drizzle on a little sherry, a raspberry or strawberry layer, some custard sauce, repeat layers and top with stiffly whipped cream. Decorate with some berries. It does well to sit a day as long as you seal the whipped cream to the edge of the bowl and cover with saran directly on top.

Well, THANK YOU! For all the stress, cursing and making of the pound cakes and petit fours. I think they are wonderful, and the best ones have to be the uncovered ones in the measuring bowl! I think i need to try your cream cheese pound cake for the next Bunco night. I know all the ladies will love it and if I make it to the farmer's market that week, I'll make a second one with strawberries! I'll let them all know that Bakerella taught me how!

omg. My mom used to make those when i was little..she got the recipe out of the Sunday Star Ledger newspaper i believe in the 60's…im sure its still lying around here somewhere..i havent thought of those in years!

Petit fours… Beautiful! But I would agree that they taste better uncovered, and I'm certain that larger pieces would taste equally wonderful! (there's no way I'm making anything similar to them, ever)But the pound cake… I'm definitely making that one in the not-so-distant future! I hope it will look half as nice as yours does.

Petit Fours are my favorite! They taste so good, look so pretty and are perfect for any kind of gathering. I used to make them all the time when I was a decorator (much easier in such a big space!) but have done them a few times at home. My tips for getting them really good:

I've never done them with layers of jam like you did. I've always had and seen them as a piece of cake with a thick layer of buttercream on top before the icing. So I'd frost the level cake with buttercream and freeze it. Then you can cut perfect cubes with a ruler and a pizza cutter and it will keep sharp edges from being frozen.

The icing is the hardest part but once you get the consistency right, skewer from the bottom a piece of frozen cake and dip. Take it off the skewer with a fork and put it on a rack to drip like you did. NEVER pour the icing. It makes ugly drips on the bottom and never looks as good (and a waste of icing!)

For all the cakepops you do, I'd think this would have been a snap for you. I think your problem was the layering and filling which, for a cake that shape, is very difficult.

Oh, I just love it… I have to love that everyone's the same when it comes to the trickier stuff! I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who makes a huge mess in my kitchen and ends up with too much cake and too little icing (or vice versa). Thankyou for the great and challenging recipe!

I did the petit four gig for my daughter's second baby shower…and you are right…lots of mess and cursing. But the end result? She wanted them so bad for her third baby shower and for once in her life, I told her no.

Bakerella I just love your work and your ideas, I try my hand at your designs but they never come out as good as yours. I'm currently working on a project that you inspired. Remember when you did the valentines day box out of cake and then had the cake bites in them. A friend of mine wants to do that for his wife's birthday, but using her initial "J" as the box and then putting the cake bites on top. Do you have any suggestions on how I can execute this to look nice. Maybe make it look like she opened a box in the shape of a "J" and have the fondant zagged, liked ripped paper? What do you think?

I use a "cheat pound cake" with my favorite yellow cake, 8 oz sour cream, 4eggs, 1/3 cup oil, 1 instant pudding mix and it comes out delicious and super sturdy for cakes with delicate details, carved cakes or cakes covered in fondant! This is the recipe I used when I made my first fondant cake, check it out;Laurenhttp://eatmytreats.blogspot.comI even made your burger sliders with the pound cake buns and while not as goodlooking as yours they came out pretty yummy

Oh my goodness. I tried making petit fours the other day too! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that had trouble pouring the icing/pourable fondant on them! Mine looked disastrous, but they tasted delicious! :-) I felt like Bakerella last week because I made Harry Potter cupcakes, a giant mermaid birthday cake, cake pops, and petit fours! Only the Harry Potter cupcakes and the mermaid cake turned out well, though. Bakerella, you have inspired me to branch out and try new things when it comes to baking. Thank you so much!

I just made the red velvet cupcake and they turn out 2 be beutifu… however the cheese frosting didn't turn out 2 be as yours it was kinda liquid.. I followed ur exact steps and everything and I don't know what is wrong????

Having been through the dipping and cursing of my first try at your cake balls, I'm only a little tickled to see that there is something out there that makes you do that, too. The ones you photographed are gorgeous, and I'll bet the others tasted great as well, even if they weren't pretty enough to be prom queen.

Great pics, but this is why I'm anti-making-very-small-things, like hors d'oeuvres, no matter how awesome small things are. One Peach Poundcake every year in ONE Bundt pan, and I'm good to go. (Or maybe a few per year, if I freeze a buncha peaches.)

i'm not going to lie, it's extremely comforting to see (and read!) that you have as much trouble with messiness sometimes as I do — my cake balls often end up looking like that, with everything dripping everywhere!

Hi,, It's the first time that I have written a comment, but I really love this blog.I'm a younger gril from Spain,so my english is not perfect but I like this blog because it have a lot of photos, for this question it's easy form me!!!! XDCan you tell me how much is a cup and oz in "grams" please?

I made petit fours ages and ages ago, but I cannot remember for the life of me how I actually did them. I don't believe mine were layered (I am almost positive that I used instructions from one of the Betty Crocker glossies from the checkout lane), but they were still tasty.